As someone who walked both the black and white sides of the world, Doflamingo had seen and heard far more than the average person.
He had long since become numb to the darkness of this world. In his eyes, the Navy's version of Justice was laughable—just a convenient order declared by the victor.
So losing to Kaito didn't make him feel like he had done something wrong. He simply accepted that he wasn't strong enough.
Kaito understood Doflamingo's character well. He never expected him to confess or repent. But he also wasn't going to kill him—because, in some ways, they shared the same belief.
Power is the true master of order. Justice without power is nothing more than a castle in the air.
Kaito's eyes opened slightly.
Suddenly, four black rods materialized in the air and pierced Doflamingo's limbs.
Being stabbed by those rods wasn't just physically painful—it disrupted the mind, too. But Doflamingo was tough. He only let out a muffled grunt before going quiet.
He stared into Kaito's Rinnegan and asked,
"What's the meaning of this? For a criminal like me, wouldn't your usual approach be to execute me on the spot? I get it—you're afraid the World Government might come after you too, huh?"
Kaito let out a scornful laugh and replied,
"Not killing you would be doing you a favor. As for the World Government... heh, there should be newspapers in prison. Just make sure you don't assume the ones they give you are fake."
With that, Kaito punched Doflamingo hard in the gut. The warlord vomited a mouthful of blood and passed out as his head lolled to the side.
Kaito locked him away in the Door-Door Space, then turned with a smile toward Viola.
"Alright, go release your father. I've got some other business to take care of."
Viola opened her mouth—she still had things she wanted to say to Kaito.
But he didn't give her the chance, vanishing from the spot with Robin in tow.
Viola stared at where he'd disappeared, lost in thought. Eventually, she let out a helpless sigh—but her eyes quickly lit up with determination.
She still had unfinished business. First, she would free her father. She believed the truth would soon spread across all of Dressrosa through the mouths of tens of thousands of spectators.
As for Kaito... she was sure they would meet again. Once she reclaimed her identity as princess, wouldn't that be the same as regaining her freedom?
...
Meanwhile,
Kaito appeared with Robin inside a factory—the place where artificial Devil Fruits were manufactured: the SMILE factory.
Tiny people, only the height of a thumb, were busy working alongside various toys.
Kaito and Robin's sudden arrival startled them all. A female dwarf jumped down and demanded,
"Who are you? How did you get in here?"
Truth be told, these little Tontatta were incredibly cute. Robin couldn't help but smile with squinted eyes. She crouched down and gently scooped the tiny girl into her hand.
The dwarf looked nervous—after all, she had been a laborer here for too long—but she didn't resist.
Despite their small size, the Tontatta were much stronger than normal humans, and thanks to their size, incredibly fast.
But what Doflamingo valued most was their natural talent: they were born botanists. There wasn't a plant they couldn't grow. That's why he tricked them into cultivating artificial Devil Fruits.
Of course, their strength and speed didn't mean much to Kaito. But to someone like Robin, being caught off guard could still lead to trouble.
In the anime, Leo—a member of the Tontatta—had once used his Stitch-Stitch Fruit and speed to trap her.
This particular female dwarf hadn't seen outsiders in a long time. She kept her head lowered, silent.
Robin gently asked,
"What's your name?"
"M-My name is Funi!"
That was another characteristic of the Tontatta—they were incredibly pure-hearted and trusting, often answering any question without hesitation.
Kaito liked this adorable race too. He leaned in to talk to Funi, but the moment she saw his Rinnegan, she shrieked and curled up in Robin's palm, trembling.
Her reaction left Kaito a little awkward. Robin, on the other hand, covered her mouth and chuckled.
She gently stroked Funi with her other hand and soothed her.
"Don't be scared. He's not a bad person. He's here to save you."
Only then did Funi cautiously lift her head and peek at Kaito with frightened eyes.
Kaito quickly put on a friendly face and softened his tone as much as he could.
"How long have you been here?"
"I don't know. That man called Doflamingo said Princess Mansherry had a strange illness. He told us we had to grow that weird fruit to save her... so we've been working here ever since."
To anyone else, that excuse would be full of holes. But because the Tontatta were so trusting, they believed it without question. No one else would have.
Robin immediately saw through the lie. That Princess Mansherry was most likely being held captive by Doflamingo. As for the strange illness—it was clearly fabricated.
Kaito simply shook his head with a sigh. These silly little things were dangerously naive. If they ever stepped out into the real world, they'd probably get scammed out of even their underwear.
As the three talked, more dwarves and toys gathered around, eyeing the two strangers with curiosity.
A few toy soldiers, who looked like guards, kindly warned them,
"You'd better leave! Outsiders aren't allowed here!"
Just then, a little girl stepped out from the shadows.
She had five grapes stuck on her fingers and munched on them as she walked. She wore a red cloak, bear ears on her hood, and a golden crown on her head—an innocent-looking child at first glance.
But the toys instantly froze in fear.
Because this little girl was the very one who had turned them all into toys—the culprit behind their suffering. A high-ranking officer of the Donquixote Family and the Toy-Toy Fruit user: Sugar.
One of the toy soldiers shoved against Kaito's leg in panic and shouted,
"Run! If she touches you, you'll become a toy just like us! A puppet under her control!"
Sugar, however, pouted with a falsely innocent expression as she slowly approached Kaito and Robin.
"Aww, that's so mean! How could you say something so scary about me?"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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